He confessed to killing more than a dozen people. Only two of those murders were ever proven — and one of his most infamous claims has never been confirmed at all.
Joseph Roy Metheny was arrested in Baltimore, Maryland, in December 1996, after confessing to a string of murders that made national headlines. Among his claims was one that's followed him ever since: that he sold parts of his victims to unsuspecting customers, mixed into hamburgers at a roadside stand.
Early Life
Metheny was born in 1955 and grew up in Essex, Maryland, near Baltimore. He and his attorneys later described a neglected childhood, with an alcoholic father who died in a car accident when Metheny was six and a mother working long hours to support six children. His mother strongly disputed this account, saying the family was poor but that her children were well cared for and never went hungry, and that Metheny had been a polite, above-average student. Metheny joined the U.S. Army in 1973 and claimed to have served in Vietnam and developed a heroin addiction there; his mother and press reports at the time indicated he actually served in Germany, with no verified record of Vietnam service.
A Life on the Margins
By the 1990s, Metheny — known by the nickname "Tiny," despite standing over six feet tall and weighing several hundred pounds — was living among groups of homeless men in South Baltimore, spending most of his money on drugs and alcohol while working intermittently as a forklift driver.
Confirmed Murders
In 1994, Metheny killed 39-year-old Cathy Ann Magaziner, a sex worker, by strangulation, burying her in a shallow grave at the pallet company where he worked. Months later, he dug up her remains, removed her skull, and discarded it. In November 1996, he killed 23-year-old Kimberly Lynn Spicer by stabbing her. These two killings — Magaziner's and Spicer's — are the only murders investigators were ultimately able to confirm and prosecute, despite Metheny claiming responsibility for as many as 13 deaths in total.
The Burger Claim
Metheny told police and later journalists that he stored parts of his victims in a freezer and mixed the meat with beef and pork to sell at a roadside "open-pit" barbecue stand, claiming customers never noticed a difference. It's an extremely widely repeated claim in coverage of this case — but it's important to be clear that it has never been independently verified. No physical evidence, customer testimony, or forensic confirmation has ever substantiated it; it exists solely as Metheny's own uncorroborated statement.
The same pattern applies to most of his other claimed victims. He said he killed additional sex workers along Washington Boulevard in Baltimore and disposed of remains in the nearby Patapsco River, but without recovered remains or other evidence, these claims were never prosecuted and remain unconfirmed.
Arrest and Capture
Metheny's crimes came to light in December 1996, after he attempted to kidnap and sexually assault an acquaintance, Rita Kemper, who escaped through a window and alerted police. Around the same time, a friend Metheny had asked to help bury Spicer's remains instead reported him to authorities. Metheny was arrested and confessed extensively during questioning, leading investigators to Magaziner's burial site.
Trial and Sentencing
In 1997, Metheny was convicted in the Kemper case and sentenced to 50 years for kidnapping and attempted assault (he was acquitted of attempted murder in that case). In 1998, he was sentenced to death for Spicer's murder; at sentencing, he told the court plainly that he killed because he enjoyed it. That same year, he pleaded guilty to Magaziner's murder and robbery and received a life sentence. His death sentence for Spicer's murder was later reduced to life without parole on appeal, with courts finding insufficient evidence that her killing had been premeditated in the way required for a death sentence.
Death
Metheny was found dead in his cell at Western Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland, on August 5, 2017, at age 62.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Joe Metheny actually sell human meat as burgers?
This claim has never been independently verified. It comes entirely from Metheny's own statements to police and journalists, with no physical evidence or witness account ever confirming it.
How many people did Joe Metheny actually kill?
He claimed to have killed as many as 13 people, but investigators were only able to confirm and prosecute two murders: Cathy Ann Magaziner and Kimberly Lynn Spicer.
Was Joe Metheny executed?
No. He was initially sentenced to death for Spicer's murder, but that sentence was reduced to life without parole on appeal. He died in prison in 2017 while serving his sentence.